Architectural historians, rejoice! We have entered an age in which our discipline can be immeasurably assisted, enriched, and sometimes transformed by the advent of accessible, low-cost, and increasingly user-friendly technologies. These tools enable us to identify evidence that was not previously visible or accessible, synthesize and map geographically and chronologically referenced data points with precision, fuse databases to combine information from secondary sources that in turn generate new types of data, and test hypotheses through 3-D models and animations. We can stimulate new questions about buildings, places, and spaces with mapping and measuring tools. In this short summary, I will mention some examples of digital projects in which new evidence has been discovered or combined in new ways to illuminate questions in architectural history. The potential tools include the following:

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR), which under the right conditions permits “vision” through the earth or through pavements to foundations and other kinds of underground information. This new evidence can be used to generate rationalized reconstructions, such as the hypothetical reconstruction of the choir screen of Santa Chiara in Naples (Figure 1).

LiDAR (light detection and ranging), a form of remote sensing, and drone imagery, both of which at present are used primarily by archaeologists.1 These are emerging as important tools for landscape and garden studies.2

3-D laser scanning, which can be used to produce exact recordings of the dimensions and materials of extant monuments (Figure 2).

Photogrammetric 3-D models of buildings, sites, and objects, which can be generated with ordinary cameras (including those on portable devices).

Geo-referenced database software that records archival or historical information with absolute geolocated precision. By combining published scholarship into databases, researchers can map geolocations and generate new forms …

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